What to Pack: Airplane Snacks for Toddlers

What to Pack: Airplane Snacks for Toddlers

Airplane travel can be stressful for parents. But it does not have to be! One of the ways we keep our kids entertained is food! We usually pack A LOT of airplane snacks. But make sure you don’t pack too much salty stuff. Salt makes kids thirsty, which means more bathroom trips (and we all know these always happen at the most inopportune time – when the seatbelt sign is on, or when the plane is headed down the runway!)

Travel Packing Containers for Kids

Our boys are 3 and 1 and right now, we love the Innobaby products, especially the Packin Smart for its compact size and its clear plastic. It fits great into the side of a backpack or any water bottle holder! It gives kids a few options for snacks, and they don’t spill when dropped, compared to a traditional bowl.

I recently stumbled across this snack container as well, this SnackStak. I like that it has different sized options! Click on the photo below to check it out!

Both of these travel snack cups for kids are great for small quantities of raisins, cheerios, puffs and melts (always cater to your child’s age when choosing snacks). My three year old loves the tall tower and getting to choose what he wants to eat. My one-year-old is occupied with trying to pull out the snacks through the small hole. Every extra minute you can occupy them while travelling, is usually a good thing! I also like that my toddler can’t dump them everywhere; because of the small hole, they come out slower than using a bowl. It also works great for formula so you can premeasure what you will need for your trip!

Skip hop also has a new toddler snack cup that comes in its always adorable animal styles! I would love to get my hands on one of these to match my kids backpacks! You can click on the photos below and check the current prices on Amazon.

Other great Snack Packing options can be found here. Little ones often like the Munchkins snack catchers as they can reach in themselves. If you do get these, go with the Munchkin brand. i have tried a knockoff brand, and the lid DID NOT stay attached!

Here are a few staples in our snack arsenal:

Puffs – fun to pick up one by one and they melt easily (but they are a bit sticky). If you have an older toddler cheerios are great too!

Pouches– even my 3 year old will have apple sauce and other snacks from a pouch! Way less chance of spillage and you don’t need to carry a spoon. But beware of toddlers squeezing them before they get to their mouth! (yes we have had that happen on occasion!). I tend to put the spout up to their mouth then give them the rest of it!

Sandwiches – they don’t make much of a mess and are staples for kids. A tupperware container will make sure they don’t get squished

Granola Bar – pick the kinds that don’t get squished (and mom and dad can munch on them too)

Dried fruits – they are light and take up less space than packing an apple! But be careful on international flights about their policies on food and make sure to always declare them to customs if you pre-clear customs before your flight! (or on arrival if you haven’t eaten them all!)

Special snacks they don’t get a home – flights are long and boring. Keeping kids entertained means less stress for mom’s (and dad’s). Maybe yogourt or chocolate covered raisins or other snacks from the junk section of the grocery store.

Always pack more than you think you will need. Flight delays or baggage delays can happen at any time and we try to avoid hungry kids at all costs! An extra snack to sit them down while you grab the bags off the carousel will go a long way and keep your stress-level down!

Don’t forget the Sippy cup. Those cups of water that the airline stewardesses provide don’t stand a chance and will make a big mess! Even for my almost 4 year old, it’s much easier to put his drink in a sippy cup with a straw, and he can drink at his leisure. Everyone knows that those tray tables are up and down and up and down again when you are travelling with toddlers and kids!

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Lindsay is the Editor and Head Writer of Carpe Diem OUR Way. She wears many hats including mom, wife, freelancer, GM for a manufacturing company and soccer player. Lindsay is spontaneous, loves travel, photography and very recently discovered she loves to write.

14 thoughts on “What to Pack: Airplane Snacks for Toddlers”

I’m learning so much about how to travel with kids since I’ve been exploring your website. Personally, I’m always eating so I do take such a bag full of snacks while flying haha. For me … with age, it seems nothing as changed.

Love your last one–sippy cup! Though my children are now adults, when they were little, we even started taking sippy cups to restaurants! I can not count on two hands (it’s a number way past that) the number of times my own son and other children spilled drinks. I always made sure to bring new crayons or colored pencils and coloring books and paper. Plus, a few new travel games are always fun!

I don’t have to worry about feeding kids when I travel but I do always carry snacks for myself. I get hungry all the time and sometimes just having the right snacks makes the journey so much better. The snacks you pack for your kids look tasty and healthy – great choices.

Looks like you’ve cracked the code lol! When our kids were a bit younger (seems so long ago now) we did the same thing – pack lots of snacks and things to nibble on. Let’s face it, it’s also a good way to keep adults entertained on long trips also. Jelly Bellies are my personal fav (chuckle).

Those Packin Smart containers are clever. Thanks for pointing those out!

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Hi and welcome to Carpe Diem OUR Way! I'm Lindsay and I am addicted to being a foreigner! Hopefully my posts on travel and my love for adventure as well as family travel tips will help make your next trip a great one!